Rickshaws banned on Canal Road
City Traffic Police Lahore (CTPL) has banned the entry of rickshaws on Canal Road. However, the rickshaw drivers have criticised the move.
Chief Traffic Police Officer (CTO) Hammad Abid said that the decision has been taken as the vehicles caused traffic disruption. He said that traffic police, in order to reduce road accidents and maintain the flow of traffic, had banned the entry of rickshaws from Dharampura Bridge to Harbanspura and Thokar Niaz Beg to Dharampura on Canal Road.
The drivers can use the service road for driving rickshaws. He continued that barriers discouraging the entry of rickshaws have been placed at various points along Canal Road.
It is worth noting that the CTPL also taken such steps earlier. However, such bans have invited wrath from the rickshaw drivers. On Sunday, they also staged a protest against police harassment and such drastic measures were endangering their livelihood. They said that besides putting end to their source of income, such measures deprive people of cheap transport.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 30th, 2020.